China's Shenzhou-6 spacecraft returns to Earth after successful mission

The re-entry capsule of China's Shenzhou-6 spacecraft, carrying taikonauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, landed safely on Earth at 4:33 a.m. Monday, marking the success of China's second manned space mission.

Chinese top legislator Wu Bangguo declared the five-day mission a "milestone" in China's space technology development and its space experiments with human participation.

"The successful mission of Shenzhou-6 is of great significance for elevating China's prestige in the world, promoting China's economic, scientific and national defense capabilities and consolidating the national cohesiveness," he said at the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center.

"Our journey in space was very smooth. The living and working conditions inside the cabin were very good. Our health is okay, thanks," a beaming Fei said after emerging from the kettle-shaped capsule. Nie thanked all the Chinese people for their "care and support."

They landed in the grasslands of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The Shenzhou-6 spaceflight ran for 115 hours and 32 minutes, more than five times that of the Shenzhou-5 mission two years ago, which put the first Chinese taikonaut in space.

In the predawn darkness, Fei and Nie climbed out the capsule with the help of technicians. They were seated for a bouquet of flower and to get used to Earth's gravity.

They later had several pieces of chocolate and Chinese herbal tea. Nie seemed to have a very good appetite and had a bowl of instant noodles.

The two men were then flown to Beijing, where they received big hugs from their wives, children and colleagues and were greeted with a grand welcome ceremony attended by senior military officers and Yang Liwei, the first Chinese taikonaut that piloted the Shenzhou-5.

"We can have a final laugh now," said Liu Yu, commanding chief of the rocket system told Xinhua. "It was a mission perfectly accomplished."

Television pictures showed the parents of the two taikonauts burst into tears when they saw their sons emerging from the spacecraft early Monday morning. Jubilant residents in the hometowns of the taikonauts set off firecrackers and performed traditional lion dances.

Messages of congratulations and thanks showing gladness over the successful launch swarmed Internet bulletin boards. In 10 hours after the successful return, bulletin board of Sina.com on this mission has had more than 100,000 messages.

Just like the previous one, this second manned space mission has gripped hearts of entire Chinese nation over the past five days.

Chinese President Hu Jintao was present at the Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center to watch the lift-off on Wednesday and talked with the taikonauts on Saturday. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao went to the launch site in northwest China's Guansu Province to see the two men off with his best wishes before the launch.

Nie spent his 41st birthday in space, receiving a phone call from his wife and daughter. The joyful daughter's sweet song "Happy Birthday to You" warmed the hearts of millions of Chinese television viewers.

Fei, 40, and Nie, blasted off Wednesday morning from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The Shenzhou-6 orbited the Earth at 7.9 km per second at an altitude of 343 km. It flew 3.25 million km in space.

Fei and Nie conducted a series of unprecedented experiments on the spacecraft, including maneuvers between the orbital and re-entry capsules, taking on and off space suits, using a space toilet and a blood pressure self-test that were absent in the Shenzhou-5 mission.

During China's maiden space flight in 2003, lone astronaut Yang Liwei neither left his seat in the re-entry capsule nor took off his space suit. Nonetheless, that space mission made China the third country to put human into space following Russia and the United States.

Hours after the safe landing of the Shenzhou-6, Tang Xianming, director of China's Manned Space Engineering Office, said that the country is eyeing spacewalk in 2007 and will launch target fliers and conduct rendezvous docking in orbit by 2009-2012.

He stressed that China's space program is entirely peaceful, and the country is ready to cooperate with any other country on the basis of "equality and mutual benefits."

"In fact, all of China's 14 taikonauts in service have been trained in microgravity environments in Russia," he said, adding that China has sent US and French satellites into space with Chinese rockets from Chinese launch pads over the past years.

Xu Dazhe, deputy general manager of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., revealed that the launching of Shenzhou-6 cost 900 million yuan (approximately 110 million US dollars), solely funded by the government. "It will bring tremendous economic benefits to the country," he said.

China has had a rocketry program since the 1950s and launched its first satellite into orbit in 1970. The manned space program was inaugurated in 1992.

Mark Lee, a renowned Chinese American space expert, described in a cross-Pacific telephone interview the Shenzhou-6 mission as "a major step forward" in China's ambition of building a space station and probing the moon."

But he said China still has to solve several difficulties in the next steps, including conducting space-walks, the development of higher-level space suits, the docking of orbital capsules and re-entry capsules and enhancing rocket boosting power.

Source: Xinhua